SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
6/1/2013 8:20 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Foolish
Workers
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Eccl.
10:8-11
Message of the
verses: Just so we understand where
we are going in this section I will quote what Dr. Wiersbe wrote at the end of
his introductory commentary on chapter eleven:
“Having laid down the principle, Solomon then applied it to four
different ‘fools.’”
“8 He who digs a
pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.
9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by
them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. 10 If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen
its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving
success. 11 If the serpent bites before
being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.”
Dr. Wiersbe points out that this section of verses has
been a puzzle to some students of the Word of God and they come to the
conclusion that Solomon is saying that all jobs have risks, and seem to think
that Solomon may actually be putting down work, but that would contradict other
portions that he has already written, and would actually contradict what God
had set up about work before the fall.
Solomon is talking about folly or foolishness in this
section and he seems to be talking about the foolishness of the workers in
doing different jobs that they were doing.
The first man may well have been digging a well and was in such a hurry
that he fell into the well. The next man
may have been trying to remodel his house by taking down an existing wall but
forgot to look and see if there were any snakes there. Snakes like to hide in places like that. Next Solomon talks about the foolish workers
in the quarries and also those who cut trees down and they too could be injured
by them if they were in a hurry. Verse
ten describes a man who did not prepare his equipment and therefore had to do
more work than if he would have taken the time to care for it in the first
place. The next man must have been
making money by being a snake charmer and was in such a hurry to get to the
next place where he could make more money that he got bitten by the snake and
therefore did not make any money and may have even lost his life.
Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary by stating “The
common denominator among these ‘foolish workers’ seems to be presumption. They were overconfident and ended up either
hurting themselves or making their jobs harder.
‘Don’t work harder—work smarter,’ seems to be what is needed in all of
these foolish workers minds and that takes wisdom.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I can relate to
some of these workers, especially in my early years, for it seems that I was
always in a hurry. I read a sign in the
nurse’s office where I worked that said “How come you always have time to do
the job over, but never have enough time to do the job right.” As I grew as a supervisor in the place of my
employment I began to learn wisdom and that was because I would ask God for
wisdom to do the job that He had called me to do. The job I worked at could be very dangerous
and therefore I needed God’s wisdom in order to work safely.
I think that this section points out the principles of
Proverbs 3:5-6 which says “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not
lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will
make your paths straight.” I desire the
Lord to guide my path in each decision that I have to make and perhaps if these
foolish workers would have done the same then none of the problems that they
faced would have happened to them.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the Lord to guide my path this day in
all of the decisions that I must make.
Memory verses for the
week: 2 Cor.5:17-21.
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who
reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in the Christ reconciling the world to
Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us
the word of reconciliation. 20
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal
through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on
our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Samson” (Judges 14:3).
Today’s Bible
Question: “Where was Apollos born?” (This is a tough one)
Answer in tomorrow’s SD.
6/1/2013 9:28 AM
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